Trigger warnings: past child abuse, storms, etc.

I do not own the song that is swung in this chapter.

The song is "Safe and Sound" by Taylor swift.

This chapter is pretty terrible but I did my best to update it so it would fit the changes I have made to the story thus far.

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Waves crashed against the Jolly Roger as its crew struggled to sail through an on going thunderstorm.

The captain of the Jolly, Killian Jones, or Hook as he was more commonly known, was running around the ship and making sure everything was in order.

Smee was sailing and the other crew members were securing the luggage and cargo, and adjusting the sails.

Hook had spent the past few weeks trying to find a magic bean so he could escape the curse and get to Emma so she could remember and save her family, and he was absolutely exhausted.

He stayed up day and night, searching and plotting up ways to get one while also running the ship and taking care of the kids.

It was absolutely exhausting and overkill but completely necessary in his opinion, which led to him only sleeping and eating when his crew literally forced him to. Or when one of the kids asked him to eat with them, which worked more often because Killian could hardly say no to the little ones. Having 82 kids on the ship who he could rarely say no to was a dangerous game but thankfully the kids didn't take advantage of it too much.

Speaking of...

BOOM!!!

The sky lit up with lightning and the kids screamed in terror from below deck, causing the crew to jump and Killian to sigh.

He remembered being little, living on Silver's ship, and being absolutely terrified of storms. He remembered the many beatings he got for waking up everyone by screaming during them. He knew the kids had probably been treated the same and that broke his heart, so he decided to go check on them instead of just letting them suffer alone throughout it.

The kids were all huddled up together in various piles; the core four in one, Harriet's crew in another, Cj's friend in a 3rd, Uma's crew in a 4th, and so on.

The oldest kids (Big Murph, Hunter, Zim, and Zam) were running around, trying their best to calm the rest of them down.

They all looked absolutely terrified and it broke his heart.

"Hey there" He called out softly, making his presence known to them.

The younger kids all whimpered and shied away from him, obviously scared that they were gonna be in trouble for being scared and screaming.

The older kids shifted and tried to block the rest of them from his view— no doubt trying to protect them like Liam had once done for him. But they themselves were all too petrified to speak.

So someone else had to do it for them.

"We're sorry" Harriet choked out—a bit fearful but trying to hide it—hugging Anthony tight. "W-we didn't mean to be so loud—"

"Shhh.. It's okay. I'm not angry." He assured, holding his hands out in a manner to show that he meant them no harm.

"You promise?" Harry asked softly. His eyes bloodshot from crying.

It knocked the wind out of Killian.

Christ, these kids were gonna be the death of him if just seeing them upset had this effect on him.

"Aye. I promise I'm not angry and no harm shall come upon you. I just came to check up on you—" it thundered yet again, causing the kids to shriek. Killian felt sick just hearing it. "Shhh.. it's okay.. it's okay"

Harry ran over to him and hugged him tight, burying his face in his alternate father's chest.

"I don't wanna die" he whimpered as he hugged him tight.

Killian swallowed heavily, hugging the tiny boy back and ran a hand through his hair when an idea suddenly hit him. One that was sure to calm the children.

"No one's gonna die, I promise. I know what will get your minds off the storm."

Hunter, Zim, and Zam looked at him warily.

Big Murph looked confused.

Most of the kids did, in fact.

"What?" Cj asked, tilting her head from where she sat—huddled up with Zevon, Freddie, Yzla, Little Yaz, and a few others.

"Yeah it's sooo loud and scary" Hermie sniffled, rubbing her eyes.

"I know lass, but I promise everything will be okay" Killian told her softly, giving her a sympathetic smile as he sat down on one of the beds—allowing Harry to climb off of him to go back to his friends. "Everyone grab a pillow and a blanket, and make yourselves comfortable."

The kids quickly followed his instructions, grabbing their pillows and blankets and comfort items before making themselves comfortable on the floor in their respective groups.

Killian closed his eyes and began to sing quietly, knowing that people tended to love his singing voice. Especially children. He knew for a fact that it would calm them all down and maybe it would calm them enough to put them all to sleep.

He sure hoped it would, because he didn't think he could handle seeing them anymore scared than they already were.

"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'll never let you go, When all those shadows nearly killed your light—" His voice was soft, comforting, and hypnotizing.

The kids were confused as to what he was doing at first but quickly caught on and started to settle down.

Most of them were still crying quietly. "I remember you said don't leave me here alone.. but all that's dead and gone and passed tonight.."

Harry laid at his feet, staring at him with wonder in his big blue eyes—no longer crying. Gil's head was resting in Harry's lap and Uma's was resting on his shoulder. The three of them looked adorable together and the sight made him smile. The Smee twins (along with Dizzy and Celia) had already drifted off against Cj, who was leaning against the wall with a small smile on her face as her eyes kept fluttering shut. Sammy had already fallen asleep, and the gaston twins and LeFou Deux were already dozing off.

"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down.. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now.. "

Killian spotted Zevon, Lil Yaz, Ylza, and even their oldest two cousins trying to fight off sleep and knew they were failing, so he continued to sing.

"Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound" Freddie along with many of the pirate children were fast asleep, small smiles resting on their adorable little faces.Those smiles always managed to warm Killian's heart—especially because they were so rare.

Hopefully, they would smile more in the next few years after they became more comfortable with him and his crew.

"Don't you dare look out your window, darling everything's on fire" Baby Hadie—from where Mal had snuck him out of Killian's room, no doubt—lit his hair up—nearly giving Killian a heart attack.

He quickly picked the infant up and put the flame out, not stopping his singing as he did so. The few kids that were still awake—including his kids and Anthony—cackled and giggled at the sight.

'The timing of this kid..' Killian thought in disbelief, before continuing the melody.

"The war outside our door keeps raging on. Hold onto this lullaby, even when the music's gone.. gone."

A tear slipped down Killian's cheek as he remembered his mother singing the song to him when he was little, among other ones.

The kids all seemed to appreciate his singing and the song.

Mal and Evie were fast asleep, leaning against Jay's side. Carlos's head was laying in Jay's lap as he slept and Jay was sprawled out on the floor. The four of them looked like siblings taking a nap together.

It was absolutely adorable and made Killian wish he had one of those portrait taking things that Tamara had shown him.

It would surely have come in handy.

"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down. You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now" Harriet smiled at Killian when he sang that verse, looking happier than he had ever seen her.

She mouthed 'thank you' and all he did was smile.

Harry was fast asleep on his feet now with Gil using his side as a pillow—Uma was being stubborn, like Yzma's kids had been, trying to fight off sleep but ultimately succumbed to it along with Anthony.

"Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound. Just close your eyes, you'll be alright. Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and soooound."

Eventually everyone but Harriet was asleep.

She smiled at him and rested her head on her pillow.

"Night daddy" she said softly, making Killian's heart skip a beat. She had never called him just daddy before. It had always just been Mr Jones, Jones, or new daddy—this was a big step and it made him happy that she felt comfortable enough to do that. Then, after a minute, she added "I love you."

That little addition made him tear up a bit more.

"I love you too, spitfire " he choked quietly, smiling at her—unsure if she heard him or not as she finally fell asleep.

Her snores filling the room.

He wondered if all parents felt like this—if Regina felt like this as an adoptive parent. It felt amazing.